Final Fantasy VII: Redemption/The Return of the Cetra
The second part of my Final Fantasy VII: Redemption story. New hope WRO Headquarters The WRO Headquarters houses a large laboratory. The place is full with machines, computers and test tubes. It is full with scientists in lab coats. Reeve, the WRO's CEO, walked through the place. Most scientists were former members of Shinra's Science Department. Reeve employed them before Shinra could. In this way all shinRa's secrets could be uncovered. The Jenova War had shown that knowledge of the natural world was of pivotal importance to protect the Planet. Reeve walked right to the scientist that was obviously in charge. Reeve: Good day Dr. Goon, is this all the material that has been taken from the Shinra Mansion? Dr. Goon: Yes, it was a lot. Shinra performed a lot of more evil after I was taken to prison. Reeve: And are there still cells of sample A and B? Dr. Goon: Yes, but not much is viable. Reeve was very relieved hearing that. Reeve: We still have C cells, right? I mean, of sample 02? Dr. Goon: (angry) Yes, Hojo didn't take any risks. He has taken an enormous amount of ovums from that poor girl. Reeve: Than there is still a chance for us to revive what we killed. Dr. Goon: I don't understand. Reeve: I want a child. Made by sample-02 C cells and sample B cells. Dr. Goon punches Reeve in the face. "The time of unethical experiments is over!" Reeve: Well, the rightful owners of the cells are killed. So, I shall ask permission to their friends and family. Wound licking A large board room is seen. The sun shined through the large windows, there are a lot of plants in the room. On one wall you can see a large WRO logo with a globe. There is a large table in the room but everyone is standing. The people in the room are an interesting group. Of course there are Reeve and Dr. Goon, four people from ShinRa: Rufus, Tseng and Cissnei, but the guests are Cloud, Tifa, Marlene, Elmyra Gainsborough and the old Mr. and Mrs. Fair. There is also a WRO soldier standing near. Reeve walked to the middle and starts to talk. "Thank you all, dear friends for coming here. Particularly you Mr. and Mrs. Fair, Gongaga is far away from here." Mrs. Fair answered: "well, you told us this concerned our dear son Zack. But... he (she points at Rufus) killed him. He is dead... (She looks at Cissnei) He was only 23, no wife, no children. We're left alone..." Her husband asked, "therefore we really didn't understand how there can be something concerning Zack." Rufus moved a few steps to towards Reeve. "Mr. and Mrs. Fair, I wasn't president when your son was killed, but..." "You were no better then your father then", said Tifa. Rufus remembered how he ordered Tifa to be executed on public television, just to move the blame for the Jenova crisis to someone else. Rufus continued, "... but I know ShinRa owes you a lot. I have given you a large wrongful death compensation, but I know that doesn't give you your son back. But what we want to propose can give you something of him back." All the guests are puzzled by Rufus words. Reeve takes back the floor and explains: "we have found living cells of Zack." "How?" Cloud asked loud. Dr. Goon explained: "When you and Zack were kept in the laboratory of Nibelheim, the scientists had to take small samples from your bodies to check if the Jenova cells were indeed settling well in your bodies. Because you two were carrying the last Project S cells, we they never throw the samples away but kept them. Therefore we now have some cells of Zack." "So, what are you suggesting", asked Mr. Fair, "that we now clone Zack?" Dr. Goon looked angry, "cloning humans is forbidden!" "Precisely what I thought," said Mrs. Fair, "but what else can we do with the cells?" Reeve said slowly, "we could create grand-children for you, by merging Zack's DNA with that of the women he loved." "Cissnei?" asked Mrs. Fair. "No not me ma'am," said Cissnei, "I lied to you that day. Zack and I never had a relationship. It was Aerith that he loved." Mr. looked to the only other young women in the room, Tifa, "are you Aerith?" Elmyra said sadly, "Aerith is dead!" Mr. and Mrs. Fair looked shocked at Elmyra, "when? how?" "Aerith was killed four years ago, by Sephiroth." "So now the whole plan falls apart", Mrs. Fair sighed, but Elmyra immediately asked Reeve, "you all know Aerith is dead for four years, have you found cells of her too?" Dr. Goon answered, "when Aerith was captured by ShinRa, Hojo wanted to breed her, so he gave Aerith a hormonal treatment to induce ovulation. Hojo was able to retrieve some oocytes, egg cells, before Cloud and his gang rescued Aerith." "Why did they wanted to breed that poor girl," Mr. Fair asked. Cloud answered first, "she was the last one of the Cetra. An ancient human race that had magical powers to create materia's and to communicate with the Planet. ShinRa studied the ancients to transfer that power to their SOLDIERS and to locate the best spots to build Mako reactors." The Fairs didn't knew what to say about all this. But Elmyra asked, "so, we can create a child for dear Aerith?" Dr. Goon walked to the center of the group, "let me be simple and clear. I don't know Aerith or Zack, I'm sorry that they're dead, but for me they're just two of the thousands of innocent people that died the last four years. What has always troubled me most was that we killed the last of the Ancients, the keepers of the Planet. When I heard Aerith's mother, who I thought to be the last remaining ancient, died because of ShinRa's experiments, I went mad. I released a horde of monsters from the Science Department and hoped they would destroy Midgar. I was willing to face prison for it!" "Well, now we have some Cetra cells. With these we could create new Ancients, and give the Planet back her keepers; and restore what we had destroyed. ShinRa's age of destruction and rape of nature is gone, we will now act according to conscious or not. I can add Zack's DNA to Aerith's ova, but only if I'm convinced that Zack and Aerith really were a couple and would have taken children if they had lived now." "I've never know Aerith, and talked to Zack one time. But you knew them well, so it is up to you to decide." There was an absolute silence in the room. "We never knew that Zack... we never knew Aerith, or that she was Zack's girl friend. So, we don't know what to say," said the Fairs. Cloud said: "actually you saw Aerith when we passed Gongaga. She was that girl that went outside when you asked if we knew anything about Zack." "Her? Why didn't she say anything?" "I've asked her the same question, but she didn't wanted to talk about it... Actually, she never talked about Zack. She even said once to me she didn't loved him but just liked him. She even dared to say Zack didn't loved her but was just a ladies man," said Cloud. Tseng and Cissnei immediately replied that that wasn't true. "Zack was really fond of her," Tseng said, "I had to watch Aerith all day, and I've seen that Zack visited her in that church as much as he could between missions. And often during mission they called each other. Pretty bad for a SOLDIER 1st class." Elmyra said: "yes, I remember well that the poor girl was really depressed when her boyfriend suddenly disappeared. She used some kind of monsters to deliver mail to him, I don't know how, but she never got answers. Therefore I didn't liked it when she came home with Cloud. I thought that he would be another soldier that would disappear someday and leave Aerith behind." Cloud looked to the sun that shone through the windows. "They're alright. I've seen them, Aerith and Zack are living together in the Lifestream. I've seen them, together." Elmyra and the Fairs looked at Cloud as if he had gone mad. "Aerith is an Ancient, therefore she can live on in the Lifestream as an entity. She can cause vision in which she spoke to me, and let Zack talk to me. Sometimes her ghost appears in the Church where she planted her flowers. And she let flowers grow on the place where Zack died, while the rest of Midgar is barren." "Interesting," Dr. Goon said, "are you telling me that we could ask Aerith and Zack for permission themselves?" Cloud said, "we could, but there is little change we might see her ghost. I once slept for weeks in that church without seeing her, while I really wanted to speak to her..." Suddenly Cloud looked to the sun like he saw a ghost... Suddenly they all had a vision... They where all standing on a high mountain looking at the ruins of Midgar, covered with a lush jungle. They saw eight small villages around the central building, smoke came out of the chimneys. And they could hear children playing in water, they laughed. "The Promised Land", a familiar voice said. They all turned their back and saw Aerith and Zack. Zack hugged his parents, and Aerith hugged Elmyra... Than everything went white. Than they were standing on one of those Midgar villages and saw a young woman that was looking over the sea. Aerith's voice said: "Hurry, we want to see Kairi!" Zack laughed: "Yes, all of you. Take care for our girl." Sources Category:Final Fantasy VII